I don't remember where I got this article, but with all the new people joining I'd thought I'd post this excellant read.
Think for a moment of your life as a tightly woven piece of fabric. Each thread represents the events and experiences you�ve had. And running alongside all of the many "life" threads are threads of a finer gauge. So fine in fact, they�re impossible to see with the naked eye. Those threads are your smoking habit, and they�ve become so interwoven in the fabric of your life, you find you can�t do anything without thinking about how smoking will fit into it. The associations that we build up over a lifetime between the activities in our lives and smoking are very closely knit. Once you quit smoking, your job becomes one of unraveling those smoking threads, or associations, one by one. How does that happen? And how long does it take?
Practice Makes Perfect
Recovery from this addiction is a process of gradual release over time. Every smoke free day you complete is teaching you how to live your life without cigarettes. Bit by bit, you�re reprogramming your responses to the daily events that trigger the urge to smoke. The more practice you get, the less urges will plague you. Over the course of your first smoke free year, you'll encounter most of the events and situations in your daily life that you associate with smoking.
Some smoking triggers are seasonal in nature and can create strong urges to smoke months into your quit. For instance, if you quit smoking during the winter and you're an avid gardener, you could find yourself craving a smoke break the first time you're out digging in the dirt the following Spring. It may hit you with an intensity you haven't felt in months. Don't worry! Once you make your way through the trigger smoke free, you'll move on with ease. The first year is all about firsts...experiencing the many daily events in your life smoke free for the first time. And, it's all about practice. You built your smoking habit through years of practice. Now, build the nonsmoking you the same way. Practice is a necessary part of recovery, so try to relax and let time help you. The more of it you put between yourself and that last cigarette you smoked, the stronger you�ll become.
It�s All In The Attitude
With that
